Online advertising, especially on social media platforms, is becoming one of the most popular ways to grow a business these days. But as a busy contractor and business owner, you may be wondering if investing the time, energy, and money into online advertising will result in a worthwhile ROI.
To answer that question, Colleen Keyworth joined us on the TNFR Podcast. Colleen is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Online Access, a company that helps contractors with online and social media marketing, as well as web, logo and sticker design. She had plenty of insights to share and her tips will help you decide how to tackle online advertising whether you are social media savvy or not.
How Facebook Ads Work
Facebook ads are an excellent choice for contractors trying to reach out to their community to build their business. Many of our current and potential clients use Facebook as a way to connect with their friends and neighbors, making it a great place to get new referrals.
Keep in mind that while you may get some sales from Facebook ads, their biggest value is in building a quality audience – that is, getting likes and follows from people who live in your service area and need your services. Ads register with viewers, helping people get to know your brand. And once you’ve built up an audience of potential clients, your posts will be more effective at generating leads, referrals and sales. The bottom line: Consider Facebook ads a long-game, not a way to trade $100 for a quick sale.
Facebook Ads for Beginners
To get started, Colleen recommends setting aside $100 a month to boost posts. If you already have a few posts that have done well organically, focus on these. Paying to boost posts that already perform well is like adding gasoline to a fire. They will grow and spread much faster than less popular posts. Facebook’s system for boosting posts is straightforward, making it an easy tool to use. Reaching the right audience is part of boosting posts, so think about targeting your local service area and the age group you are most likely to serve.
When it comes to campaign advertising, setting up multiple posts to promote a special deal or sale, it may be worthwhile to get professional help. Marketing professionals will help you get the most bang for your buck by curating your content and audience. This means you won’t be spending money on leads that are out of your reach. Instead, your ads will target those most likely to become your clients.
How to Avoid Cyber Attacks on Facebook
As with any platform you use that hosts your sensitive information, it’s important to exercise caution to avoid having your account hacked. Hackers gain access to Facebook accounts through compromised passwords. Then, they delete everything, add their own content and use the credit card Facebook has on file to run ads, sometimes worth thousands of dollars.
Usually, the first warning sign you’ll see is an email asking you to confirm changes you made to your personal information. Protect your account by taking a close look at emails like this right away. Make sure they are not a scam (spelling errors, look alike logos, and domain names that aren’t the company name are all red flags) and then respond ASAP. If you don’t respond to Facebook’s confirmation email within 30 minutes, your account will be compromised. Not only can hackers make unauthorized charges to your credit card, when they delete your previous content, you’ll lose the audience you’ve built up and any previous campaigns you worked on.
If, in spite of your best efforts to stay vigilant, you still get hacked, cancel any credit cards stored in your Facebook account immediately. Contact Facebook to report the fraud. Then, find out which user’s information has been compromised and make the necessary changes.
What About Other Social Media Platforms?
You may find other social media platforms to be great lead generators as well. Facebook and Instagram are integrated so you can easily create ads on Facebook and run them on both platforms. TikTok may not cater to your customer demographic but it’s an excellent recruiting tool. Fun day-in-the-life moments, fast-forward installs, and before and after videos all give your company transparency and can reach younger audiences looking for a career path.
If you start feeling overwhelmed by all the options, remember this: Your company has every ability to do all of it, you just have to identify the person with the skills. A younger tech or a tech’s son and daughter who needs a summer job can create a personal touch on social media a third-party company can’t provide. They can help you connect with the community and let people get to know your business. Take the pressure off yourself as the owner and assign someone. It’s a lot to learn, so it makes sense to use someone who is already enthused about social media and knows how to use the tools.
Many contractors are having tremendous success growing their business with online advertising and you can too. Plus, getting started with online advertising may be easier than you thought. Give it a try and if you need guidance along the way, reach out to our friend Colleen at Online Access.
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Cyber security to prevent ad hacking [2:35]
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Getting started with Facebook ads [10:40]
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Which social platform is best for advertising? [13:15]
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Using TikTok as a recruiting tool [16:08]
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How to connect with your community through social media [19:36]
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How Online Access can help your business [23:33]
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Colleen Keyworth’s cell: 810-334-6711
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Colleen Keyworth’s email: ckeyworth@online-access.com
